Maurice Kirk: Hunger strike continues as does denial of private and prison healthcare + the outrageous “MG6D” rule that is used by police etc. to deny disclosure of evidence entering a court case – 07 Nov. 2018 + archive

When watching the celebration of the armistice today, I remembered my father who was 18 on 11 November 1918 and whose mother rejoiced he was thus saved from having to enlist. I was then forced to remember what was happening today to a man in his seventies: Maurice Kirk, an elderly veterinary practitioner, who has been incarcerated in a prison in Wales and sentenced to two years imprisonment on a trumped up charge.

I watched the Prince of Wales, nearing his seventieth birthday, carry out his princely duties and realised he hadn’t a thought in his head about the man – just a little older than himself – languishing in prison and suffering considerable pain in a South Wales prison in Swansea, and I thought – what a farce it all is.

Last night I attended a commemoration of the World War I peace celebrations at a local church hall in Pershore and learned of the young soldier who returned as a casualty from the war in Bosnia, to find the grandmother who had raised him was dead, and the local authorities had re-possessed her council flat somewhere in London, so he was homeless and had to sleep on the streets until the charity in whose name the evening was taking place, stepped in and gave him back his self-respect by giving him a place to call home, kitted him out in a decent suit of clothes and helped him find employment.

These two cases are symptomatic of the malaise that afflicts our society. To those who have – even more shall be given, while to those who have so little, even less will come their way. I call this injustice. I believe that with great wealth and privilege comes great responsibility and I believe we must all bear some responsibility for the plight of those less fortunate than ourselves. It is not acceptable that those who would have us believe they are fit to rule or govern us should claim to be ignorant of the suffering inflicted by society; it is their duty to know about such things.

The information is there. If an octogenarian can find out these facts – surely those in charge of our destiny, with all the modern resources at their command, can do no less.

4 comments on “Maurice Kirk: Hunger strike continues as does denial of private and prison healthcare + the outrageous “MG6D” rule that is used by police etc. to deny disclosure of evidence entering a court case – 07 Nov. 2018 + archive”

” To those who have – even more shall be given, while to those who have so little, even less will come their way. I call this injustice. ‘ and I thought it happens only in under developed countries. Your post is informative and an eye opener. Injustice is everywhere may be more or less. Worrying.

Indeed, injustice is everywhere – and in every country. It is why constant vigilance is so necessary for each and everyone; we can all play a part by keeping our eyes open and reporting what we see, when we see it; as long as frankness does not endanger the reporter.